


Rescued

by Serendipity_Zemblanity



Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, Gen, Pony Play, Training
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13116054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serendipity_Zemblanity/pseuds/Serendipity_Zemblanity
Summary: Two seemingly wild ponies, a young filly and an older stallion, are found by horse flippers nearby to an illegal pony auction house. The pair is captured and thrown into a stall where they stay until rescue comes by luck. Scarred by past experiences and their latest interactions with the men at the sales barn, animal control struggle to find owners for the ponies that can deal with their problems. Until their angel comes along.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a totally different AU, if this doesn't tickle your fancy then don't read it! This is not based off of any book, my apologies if any characters may resemble some from a book or in real life. That is not my intention.
> 
> My chapters will be relatively short, usually no more than two thousand words per and this first chapter is extra short. I will also time skip quite a lot during the beginning. This will be a short story, I expect roughly ten chapters. I may do some outtakes at the end of the pony's past lives and/or some insights to what the time skips missed.
> 
> In this story, ponies are humans that are trained and/or bred to act as a normal pony would. Some ponies are willing participates, but many are not. It is totally normal, and accepted unless you are doing it illegally. Ponies aren't genetically altered in any way, but they can be surgically altered. For example, cutting the vocal cords. That is the extent my stories will go to because I do not enjoy big surgeries or plastic body suits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I always have the most original names for my works... Not. Anyway, like my Twilight story, I wrote this a little bit ago. I wrote five chapters to it, but haven't continued past that. I'll probably post them eventually, but may not continue this story past the chapters I've already written. Perhaps after I finish "A Show Pony", since that's my main focus right now?

The young filly and her companion are on the run. They have been for several days, trying to get away from that mad man and woman. They had just narrowly escaped and had no plans of going back. That brought them to present time, running full speed through the wooded area, fully tacked with bits in their mouths. Every so often they would stop and rest because they were becoming more and more weak as the days went on, so when they spotted people after four day of running - both ponies were nearly too tired to fight.

The large men spotted the two lying underneath a tree, just on the outside of their property when they were walking the perimeter of the fence to check for holes. Silently they went back to where everyone else was to hatch a plan to capture these two. The ponies looked to be in excellent condition, and could probably fetch a high price on the market. They wouldn't ever pass up a deal such as this. These men were illegal pony flippers. They obtained human ponies, usually illegally, and would resell them with ludicrous prices and promises of 'high quality show ponies', or 'extreme high pain tolerance', when really they were just drugged.

They set up a plan and then went out with lassos and tranquilizers, just in case. They made a large circle around the two ponies, where they couldn't see them, and then started walking inwards, so they were surrounded and couldn't escape. The young filly and the other stallion were completely unaware of what was going on, for it was the middle of the summer and no leaves would crunch under the flipper's feet. Though it wasn't long before the stallion caught sight of one of the men and let out a shrill whinny. He clambered to his feet, alarmed. The filly followed suite and looked around quickly. These unknown men were coming out of the woods, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Easy little ones, we won't hurt you." One of the sleazy men cooed, walking increasingly closer to the pair.

The stallion was on high alert now, head up high in the air and nostrils flaring. He had positioned his body in front of the filly, an attempt to protect her. It was useless though because they were surrounded.

"Calm down. We just want to get you in the nice barn." Another man called out, softly. The men were all very close now and the filly was in obvious distress. These men did not look nice, and the ropes in their hands looked threatening. All hell broke loose when the stallion nipped the filly and attempted to dash out of the circle. Ropes were flung and the tranquilizer was shot. One of the many ropes was able to loop around the little filly's neck and the tranquilizer was shot into the stallion's thigh. The high dosage had him quavering on his feet already.

Quickly the men moved in, hobbling the stallion and pulling a blindfold over the young mare before shooting her with the other tranquilizing dart. With both ponies subdued, they started moving them into their barn.


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually the two ponies woke up, alarmed. The tranquilizer's effected the younger female more than the male because of her small form and light weight. The stallion tried to stand, but he was still too drugged. They both lay there for a while, trying to gather their thoughts and gain energy to stand. The female was curled against the other's chest, trying to get warm. While it was summer, they were laying on concrete with only a thin layer of straw. Just as she laid her head down, the loud sound of boots was heard, filling the air.

Both ponies jerked up and clambered to their feet with wild eyes. As the men came into view, the stallion pushed the filly backwards towards the back of the stall. She got the message and went to the corner of the stall. He backs up until his body is in front of her's, an attempt to protect her.

"Ha, boy! What's that gonna do?" One of the men throws open the door and enters the stall. He immediately goes for the stallion's head, trying to grab his head collar. The pony lets out an unhappy squeal and backs up further. Ignoring the obvious defensive and uneasy stance of the pony, the man comes closer and again tries to grab his head collar. The pony darts forward at the man, but the stallion is quickly knocked back by a sharp blow to the head by a whip. Dazed, the pony stumbles around a bit.

A loud chatter of laughter erupts at this, and the group of men leave after securing the stall back.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

The next few weeks go along in the same manner for the ponies. No training, only teasing and pain. The men love tormenting the ponies, but it certainly isn't helping on getting the ponies sold. Whenever someone comes to look at them, the men can hardly catch them for one - and two, they are too scared and/or aggressive to have safely around the potential buyers. The stallion strikes out at anyone and everyone, and the filly is a nervous wreck.

The pair look completely different from when they first came. When the men captured them, they looked decent. They were at a nearly perfect weight with good muscle mass. Their manes were in good condition, and their tack was handmade and custom fit by the looks. Now they are scraggly and skinny. Always dirty, with mud caked on their legs. You could count all of the female's ribs easily. Out of the both of them, she was loosing weight the fastest.

Unknown at the time to the men, today would be the day that their illegal business would be exposed. It wasn't illegal to sell ponies, but the manner in which they were treating and selling them was. A mole had gotten into their business and alerted the local police and animal control. Preparations were being made to rescue a large group of ponies and arrest all of the men.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

"Police! Come out with your hands in the air!" There was wild commotion going on. All of the men were running around, crazed. Their 'doorman' at the front of the property had just called and said that a large group of police were driving up to the barn.

"Police! Come out with your hands in the air!" A shot was fired, and all hell broke loose. The remaining ponies in their stalls were terrified. Over the past month, many had sold but there were still a couple remaining - including the stallion and young filly. None of the ponies could see what was going on, they could only hear gun fire and shouts. The filly was curled up in a ball in the corner of the stall as the stallion was pacing in circles. It took nearly twenty minutes for the commotion to calm down.

"There are ponies in here!" A shout comes from the front of the barn as hurried footsteps come in. More footsteps follow as more people come into the barn.

"Ah, shit. Go get Lawrence." Another voice says. By now the filly has stood up and is huddled in the corner, with the stallion still pacing.

"Where are they?" This time is a deep voice, male. Heavy footsteps make their way over to where the stallion and filly are. The latch is undone and the door is swung open. The stallion goes over to the corner where the filly is, protecting her. She hadn't been seriously hurt by the horse flippers, but they had some close run-ins.

"Here are some. Mandy, go get two lead ropes, a bucket of feed and two syringes of tranquilizer just in case." The Mandy girl runs off and the man steps into the stall. He doesn't look anything like the horse flippers, but the ponies don't know this man and have no plans of trusting him. He approaches them with hands out in front of him.

"Easy, you're okay. We want to help you." Lawrence tries to sounds convincing, but the stallion refuses to believe him. The stallion is weak now because of the abuse and neglect he has had to endure, so he is worried that he will not be able to protect the filly. 'Mandy' returns and steps into the stall. The filly lets out a whimper and tries to bury her face in the stallion's back. She knows he will do anything to protect her, but there is an end to everything. The man takes the items out of Mandy's hands and steps forward again.

"Want some food?" Lawrence holds out the bucket filled with rice and oats. Neither pony looks interested, so after a couple minutes he gives the bucket back to Mandy. Both ponies look terrible. Obviously abused and fearful. The stallion is about half a foot taller than the young mare. She doesn't look to be any older than sixteen years old, but the stallion looks to be anywhere from eighteen to twenty. Lawrence doesn't want to distress them any further, but he must get them out of here.

"Mandy come help me." He says, holding one of the lead ropes out to her. She sets the bucket down and enters the stall. He explains what he wants her to do, and then they go. Lawrence goes to the left, trying to get the mare and stallion separated. It will be much easier if they are separate. He tosses the end of the lead rope at the side of the filly, and out of luck - she darts to the other side without seeing Mandy. Mandy is able to lunge forward and grab her head collar before the filly realizes what is going on.

The stallion tries to go after Mandy, the young assistant, but Lawrence uses one of the tranquilizers on him before he can get far. It was a heavy dosage so the stallion begins to waver on his feet immediately.

"Can I get some help in here?" Lawrence shouts, clipping the lead rope to the stallion's head collar and grabbing his shoulders to steady him. In the other corner, the filly is panicking. She doesn't like being restrained, or being apart from the stallion. And currently, he is nearly unconscious. She doesn't like this annoying female that is pulling on her head, or trying to touch her. The girl is trying to reassure her but the filly is having none of that. It isn't long before the pony feels a sharp poke in her thigh.

Animal control didn't have much trouble loading the two unconscious ponies onto the trailer. Since they were in such bad shape, they decided to put them on the small trailer and leave immediately, to go back to the rescue's stable and get them the vet attention they needed. The bigger trailer would be left for the other volunteers to put the rest of the ponies on. The others hadn't been abused as severely and were not so underweight.

"That poor little one. She was so scared and nervous." Mandy said to Lawrence as they climbed into the cab of the truck.

"I know. The stallion wasn't much better, he just struck out when scared." He stated. The rest of the ride was silent as they drove to the rescue's stables.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon Lawrence and Mandy pulled into the stable, vets and volunteers came out to help. They had called the center ahead to warn them and allow them to prepare. Everyone wanted the ponies to be as comfortable as possible, despite the circumstances. It was the least they could do.

"Mandy! Swing the ramp down and latch the doors back. We have to work quickly so we can get them inside before they wake up too much." Mandy did so quickly, and the volunteers that had been waiting were able to carry the ponies into the vet's examination room. It didn't take long to have them strapped down onto the tables, and another sedative was injected into both ponies before they could wake up much.

"Hand me that box of gloves, please." Kate asked, pointing to the box next to Lawrence. She was the leading vet here, and had years of experience working with abused and neglected ponies. By looking at these two, she knew they had a long road to recovery. The sooner they found out what was wrong, the sooner they could get on that road so she went right to work.

While he waited on the results, Lawrence decided on names for the ponies. The young filly would be called 'Mia', and the stallion would be called 'Riley'. The names seemed to fit them and their personalities. Many minutes later, Kate began filling Lawrence in on their conditions.

"Mia, as you call her, is no older than sixteen and is roughly five foot five. If you're lucky she could possibly grow another inch or two. Obviously, she has been neglected and is severely underweight. As well as abused. We did a pelvic exam on her and she has scarring on the walls of her vagina and cervix. On her back there is evidence of old scars. What troubles me most about her, is her ankles. Her right ankle has evidence of old trauma, but it has healed perfectly. Her left ankle has an old break that hasn't healed properly so she may limp slightly for the rest of her life. We could try to fix it, but personally with her, I wouldn't stress it. It isn't causing her any pain. I will prescribe her some medication to help on days where she is working more than normal." She paused for a bit and then continued. "Riley is not as bad physically. First off though, he is roughly nineteen years old and stands at five foot eleven. He has also been neglected and is underweight, and most likely abused. The worst I could find on him would be his mouth. His teeth are chipped and in terrible shape. His tongue and roof of his mouth are torn to pieces and scarred. I went ahead and fixed everything I could, but what he needs is rest. No stiff, hot, or crunchy foods. Only soft foods that are warm or cold for at least two months. Their mouths heal very quickly, but his mouth is severely damaged. No bits either, for the long foreseeable future. He will need a hackamore." After hearing all of this information, Lawrence went to go and check on them. He didn't expect their conditions to be as bad as they are.

He found them at the very back of the barn, away from everyone else. At first he was a little sorry for them to be so far away from other ponies, but with their current condition and un-trusting nature, it was for the best. He peeked through the stall bars and saw them curled up into each other, Riley's head was resting on Mia's side. They looked much better. The vet team had cleaned their whole body's and combed their manes. Now that Mia was clean, he could see the scars on her back. He had seen those before - they were cane welts and belt buckle scars.

Riley began to stir and then his eyes popped open. His eyes snapped up to Lawrence's and then narrowed. Yes, Riley remembered him.

"Hey bud. It's alright, I'm not coming in." Lawrence tried to reassure the stallion, but he wasn't accepting of his words. Riley shakily got up, his brain still a bit foggy from the drugs, and positioned himself in front of Mia. Lawrence grimaced and then left them alone. It was going to be a while before Riley would trust him, or anyone else for that matter. He just hoped he could get him placed into a good home quickly. A rescue center was no place to begin trying to train them.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

Several weeks passed and a couple potential adopters came by but none wanted both Mia and Riley. They only wanted Riley, until they saw how he fought back. With his attitude, he wouldn't make a good work horse. Lawrence tried to get the two ponies used to kind human contact, but he had so many work calls to attend to that it made it hard. His efforts weren't a waste though. Now he could brush over Riley, as long as he wasn't tied up or restrained, and Lawrence could occasionally get close enough to touch Mia's shoulder. It was a huge step for both of them.

Since it looked as if they were not going to be adopted anytime soon, and they had put on a bit more weight, Lawrence decided they could use some sunlight. He had refraining from doing so because it allowed them time to heal and it was easier to watch them when they were more confined. So, today they were being released into one of the round pens directly behind their stall. Lawrence had some help from Mandy to set up some round pen panels to make a chute that went from the door at the back of their stall to the gate of the round pen.

"Hey guys." Lawrence opened the door at the back of their stall and it let out a loud sound. Mia jumped and spun around, her eyes wide with fear. He hated to see her look like that.

"Come on out." He stepped out of the doorway and climbed over out of the chute, allowing them to come out without pressure. Riley came out first, as expected. He tended to try things out before Mia did, to make sure they were safe. Riley took a couple hesitant steps out and then he briskly trotted down into the round pen. He circled it and then laid down. Lawrence was a little worried, but then Riley began to roll from side to side and 'push' himself around on the dirt, scratching himself. The little filly was still in the doorway of the stall, looking nervously around. Lawrence fumbled around in his pocket, looking for a treat. When he found what he wanted - he took the wrapper off and stuck his hand through the bars of the round pen panels, holding his palm up and flat. By accident he had learned that Mia loved jolly rancher type candies.

Mia looked at Lawrence uncertainly. She had learned that the stall was her safe place, and now she really didn't want to leave that safe place. For the first time she felt somewhat at ease. But she really loved that candy so she came out of the stall and hesitantly took the candy. Her past owners always expected something... sexual in return if they were nice to her, but Lawrence doesn't, which she is grateful for. Mia then takes off to go join Riley.

Lawrence stood back, watching them interact. Mia fell to her knees and then side, rolling just as Riley did. Then they lay there in the dirt, sunbathing. Eventually Mia scooted up and put her chin on Riley's stomach. They had come further than Lawrence had expected in a few short weeks. Both ponies were putting on weight in the appropriate weight. Riley's mouth wasn't as sensitive now and he wasn't as defensive. Mia wasn't flinching at every little thing, and she still couldn't stand to be touched. Now all they needed was a true owner to help them finish their journey. Lawrence wished he could keep them, but he was too devoted to his job to properly help them. He took one more look back at them and then began to walk back and finish the chores around the rescue center.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize for the short, boring chapter. A filler was needed. I will hopefully make up for it next chapter...

The next morning, Lawrence is feeding some of the rescue's ponies when he gets a call.

"Lawrence Hobbs? Temporary Owner of the two ponies, Mia and Riley?" A male voice says, professional and blunt.

"This is he." Lawrence replies, pausing.

"I'm interested in coming out and seeing the pair. When are you open? I'm free the today and tomorrow."

"I'm free anytime today."

"Okay, great. I'll see you in two hours."

"See you then. Good bye." Lawrence didn't have time to move his phone from his ear before the man on the phone hung up.

Lawrence let out a deep breath and looked at his phone. The man, whose name he never got, was very blunt and was not trying to kid around. Very domineering, he could tell by the tone. Lawrence wasn't sure that he would do very good with Mia and Riley if he acted like that in real life... Scenarios flashed through his head. Riley would fight back until it killed him. He didn't seem to have a submissive bone in his body until it came to Mia... And sweet little Mia. She didn't like dominating tones or men. She shut down and would run. He sighed and went back to work. Hopefully everything would work out and the ponies would finally have a proper owner.

True to his word, the man pulled up exactly two hours later. Lawrence went out to the parking lot to greet him.

"Hi, I'm Lawrence Hobbs. I believe we talked earlier?"

"Yes, I'm Christian Cox, sorry about the short phone call. I was in a bit of a rush."

"It's really no problem, would you like to see the ponies?" The man seems much more laid back now that Lawrence has seen him himself.

"Sure." Christian replied, and Lawrence lead the way to the ponies.

Earlier he had put the pair into the round pen and then moved the chute to the side so the barn did not look like such a mess, and it would be easier to access the ponies without them feeling too crowded. As the two men approached the round, they could see that both ponies were laying down. Mia's head shot up when she heard the sound of shoes on gravel. There had been a couple times when strangers came to see her and Riley, but Lawrence never let them get too close. Still, she nudged Riley awake and stood up.

"So a quick cliff notes on these two. We rescued them about four weeks ago from a black market sales barn where they were in terrible shape. Since then I have let them roam in their stall, and more recently this round pen. They haven't had much human interaction other than me and potential buyers. So anyway, the little one is a female, that's Mia. She is very sweet, but doesn't trust easily and gets nervous very quickly. Riley is the only one she trusts, and as far as I know they aren't sexually active with each other. When we rescued them, the vets here did a pelvic exam on Mia and it showed trauma that I don't believe Riley inflicted. She wouldn't trust him if he did that. And Riley, he is the larger stallion. He is very defensive and will strike out. He will do anything to protect Mia, but he really is a good boy."

With that, Christian and Lawrence walked up to the fence of the round pen. Lawrence entered the pen, closing and locking the gate behind him. He held out his hand with a jolly rancher a softly called out to Mia. She turned towards him, but her eyes shot to Christian and she backed up into Riley. Lawrence took a couple steps closer and called out to her again. Still she eyed the strange man, and would not come close.

"Easy" Lawrence whispered, trying to get Mia to relax. Both ponies didn't move an inch. Standing here watching them, it reminded him very much of the first time he had ever seen the pair.

Christian swung the gate open and then latched it behind him, careful not to make too much noise. He walked over to where Lawrence was, looking the filly and stallion over.

"Thanks, that'll be all. I don't want to spook them too much anymore." Christian said.

"Let's talk back in my office?" Lawrence suggests, looking back at the two ponies. Christian nods and they walk back to his office.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

After Christian and Lawrence got everything settled, and a date set as to when Christian would pick them up, Lawrence went out to see the ponies again, and gauge how they handled the situation.

As he approached the round pen, both pony's heads came up. A cute little whinny came from Mia. It was a bit raspy, but still adorable to Lawrence.

"Hi Mia." He climbed through the round pen panels, not even bothering with the gate. Even though they were making great lengths to trusting him, they both stood up when Lawrence approached. If you were laying down, you were in a very vulnerable state.

He paused, holding his hands out to show he wasn't trying to harm them and then walked up to Riley. Since he found that Mia loved jolly ranchers, he tried to find something that Riley loved, but nothing seemed to catch his attention. Lawrence massaged the stallion's scalp and Riley dropped his head lower. He continued for several minutes before giving him a pat and turning to Mia. She backed away nervously, so Lawrence left it at that.

Lawrence gave Riley a pat before going to finish the paperwork on his side of things.


	5. Chapter 5

Today was the big moving day for the ponies. When Lawrence went out to feed them, he slipped a sedative into their feed. Not enough to fully knock them out, but enough to make them more docile when it came to trailering and one final check up by the vets. Lawrence and some volunteers of the rescue center helped Christian back his trailer closer to the round pen so the ponies didn't go far.

"Here you are." Christian closed the door to his truck and handed the papers to Lawrence. "I also have some halters for them, mind if we put them on for the ride?"

"No, not at all." Lawrence replied and walked with Christian around to the other side of the trailer.

The trailer was small, but not tiny. It had a small living space in the front, and the a separate tack room, and then four separate 'stalls' for ponies. Christian opened the tack room door and locked it open, and then stepped up into it.

"Here is Mia's halter." He grabbed a light blue halter, with a paired lead rope. On the side where her cheek would be had a small silver plate that said "Mia" on it. "And Riley's" Christian got out of the trailer with a halter in hand. Riley's was a light green colour, like a mint type colour. It also had a paired lead, and on the cheek had a silver plate that had "Riley" engraved on it.

Both men started off towards the round pen. They could see that the drugs had affected both ponies because they were swaying slightly in the breeze and their heads were low. Mia looked to be more out of it because of her smaller frame.

"I'll get Mia, if you can get Riley." Lawrence said as he opened the door. Christian gave a conformation nod and they both stepped into the pen. It wasn't hard to walk up to them, but the two ponies needed to be separate to make the two men's job's easier.

So, Lawrence lured Mia away from Riley with candy. He grabbed her halter, and pulled lightly towards him. Mia fought the pressure, backing up. Once Lawrence was pretty sure she would stand, he quickly took her thin rope halter off and replaced it with the light blue one that their new owner had bought for her. This halter needed to be a big snug so she couldn't slip out of it, but it would be okay loose for the trailer ride.

"Ready?" Lawrence looked back at Christian who had a drugged Riley already haltered.

"Yes. Leave their rope halters on the gate I will deal with them later." Now came the iffy part. They weren't sure if the ponies would follow them, or if there would be a massive melt down.

The two men walked the ponies over to the side of the barn where the vet team was waiting. It was Kate and her team again. She began to look them all over, checking to see if anything needed immediate attention. She found nothing so she moved on to Riley's face. She had Christian hold him tightly as she put a mouth spreader in. His mouth was healing perfectly.

"He looks good. I would continue to feed softer foods for two more weeks, just to be on the safe side. Bits are still a no go. Overall they both look much better than when they first got here. I found continue with the fattening foods, and probably a regular workout schedule for them both." Christian nodded at Kate's review and then turned his attention to Lawrence.

"Take Riley first. Mia will follow him." Lawrence stated. Christian tugged lightly on the lead rope and Riley stumbled forward. They made it about halfway to the trailer before Riley spotted it and began to throw a fit. His head was as far up in the air as he could get it and he was pulling backwards as hard as he could. That automatically set Mia off, when she saw Riley struggling so she too began to struggle.

"Ah. Ah. Ah." Lawrence made a harsh correcting sound and snapped the lead forward. Mia looked surprised, but stopped. She wasn't really scared yet, she was just trying to get her way like she had been allowed.

Riley on the other hand was still fighting the pressure. Christian was standing still, lead rope in hand - not moving. It was Riley who was putting all of the pressure on himself. He fought for a little while longer and then realised no one was making a big deal about it, so he stopped.

"Good boy." Christian praised him, and then began walking again. They made it to the ramp of the trailer and Riley stopped again.

"No. Come on." He gave a tug on the rope, and then held the rope still so there was constant pressure on the stallion's face. As soon as Riley would step forward, the pressure would be relieved. But Riley didn't want to do this easily so he threw his head up again and began to try and back up.

Christian nodded his head to one of the volunteers on the side of the trailer. The volunteer snapped a small whip on Riley's ass cheek. This wasn't him fighting because he was scared of the trailer, Riley was fighting because he wanted to be an asshole.

When Riley felt that whip on his rear, he jumped forward onto the ramp. He knew that this man was much stronger than him, so fighting was a lost battle. But he still wanted to try. Another crack was laid on his ass and he kicked backwards instead of moving. More pulling on his head. God, he hated that. Another whip on his rear. Even more pulling. Another whip. Riley took the final steps in.

"Yes, good boy." The rope went loose and his halter was no longer being pulled so tightly on his face. Christian took the lead rope and tied it to one of the rings up high on the wall of the trailer. He ducked under the rope barrier in the front of the trailer and then hopped out of the emergency exit at the front of the trailer.

At the back of the trailer, Lawrence wasn't having too much trouble with Mia. She was really too drugged to do anything and just wanted to be closer to Riley. After a couple reassuring words and some light taps on her rump from the volunteers, she too was loaded next to Riley. She was a little freaked out about the ordeal, but she could see Riley so it was alright.

"Okay, you're good to go." Lawrence said as he checked the latches on the trailer one last time. The two men shook hands and Lawrence stood back as Christian climbed into the cab of the truck and drove away.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

Christian thought about his game plan on the way home. He had a small barn with six stalls, then a tack room and wash stall. He just had his personal pony, Jonathon at home. Jon always went in the first stall next to the tack room. So Christian would most likely put Riley next to Jonathon and the Mia next to Riley. That way Mia wouldn't have a strange pony on one side of her.

What to do when they got there... He could turn them out with Jon and then try to catch them all later, or he could put them straight into stalls. He had a large round pen as well that they could go into. Christian thought about what to do for the rest of the way home.

He slowed the truck down as he pulled onto the gravel driveway leading out to the barn. He knew how rough the trailer could shake when going over gravel and it wasn't pleasant. A smile formed on his face when he saw Jonathon waiting for him at the gate. Jon did tend to get lonely out here, but being alone really helped Christian re-break Jon. He was much like Riley.

Parking the truck outside of the barn, Christian climbed out. He walked over and pet Jonathon and then went to tend to the two ponies in the trailer. He had decided that he would turn them out with Jonathon in the pasture for a little bit. From what their temporary owner said at the animal control center, they hadn't been in a pasture for a while.

"Hey Mia." She had herself all tangled up in the loose rope, but was standing still. "I'll get you out of there." He went to the front of the trailer and got in the emergency exit. He undid her rope and threw it over her, so it lay over the back of her 'stall'. Then he got out of the trailer and walked around to the back. Grabbing the rope off of the barrier, he unlocked the swinging door and opened it.

"Okay, easy. Let me untangle you." Christian managed to get her untangled, but by the end she was starting to breathe heavily. He avoided the urge to run his hand down her side and instead led her out of the trailer and over to the fence. Jonathon was waiting and when he saw that it was a mare, he began to try and show off. Christian rolled his eyes at Jonathon's attempts and then led the young filly into the pasture. Jon stayed a little bit away. Smart boy.

Christian slipped the halter off of Mia and then stepped away. Immediately she squealed and took off, with Jonathon hot on her heels. They made it about halfway down the pasture before Christian heard loud banging from inside the trailer. The noise did not sound safe, so he went over quickly. Riley was trying to undo his rope and escape.

"Stop. You're alright. Let me get you out." Riley paused when he saw that Christian was untying him. Christian repeated the same thing that he had with Mia, throwing the rope over and then opening the back of the trailer and allowing him to come out. Christian began to walk Riley briskly over to the gate leading to the pasture where Jon and Mia were, before he had time to throw another tantrum. The halter was slid off Riley's face so he was free. Without looking back, he took off down the pasture to where Jon and Mia were circling each other.

Looking back, Christian probably wouldn't have let the two stallions out together with a single mare. But it was too late now.

Riley came galloping up and roughly pushed Mia away from the other stallion. He continued to nudge and nip at her until she was far enough away for his liking. Jonathon stood there, surprised for a few moments and then advanced towards Riley. It had been a long time since Jon had companions and these two did not seem very friendly. The filly had already nipped his shoulder when he tried to get close to her!

"Alright. Stop it, all of you." Christian had walked down to where they were, to break up the standoff they were having. The new ponies walked away to begin exploring this new area and Jonathon walked up to Christian. He hadn't meant to be rude to the new ponies, so he ducked his head to try and show that.

"I know bud. Be easy on them." Christian rubs and massage's Jon's head for a minute and then turned to go put up the trailer. Jonathon watched the two new ponies before eagerly trotting after them.


	6. Chapter 6

To allow the two ponies to decompress from their journey and time at the animal control centre, Christian left Riley and Mia out with Jonathon for two days over the weekend. He hoped this would allow the three to get to know each other and become more comfortable around each other. Of course he had to feed them, so he would go out to feed them, without any attempts to touch them. It wasn't like they were close enough to touch. Jonathon would come running when Christian would go out to feed, but Mia and Riley would trail slowly behind. And if Christian lingered at the gate, the two ponies would stay behind longer.

Now it was Monday morning and it was going to be Mia and Riley's first day of training. First Christian needed to get Jonathon up from the pasture. He was going to saddle Jon and use him to corral the two ponies into a small square pen beside the barn. Then he would be able to easily catch the two ponies and get their halters back on.

"Jonathon!" Christian stood in the open gate, halter in hand.

It wasn't long before he saw Jonathon's figure coming out of the woods. Briskly, his pony cantered up to him, halting slightly in front of Christian. The pony allowed Christian to pull a halter onto his head and then after securing the gate, they walked up to the barn.

Christian took his time brushing and saddling Jonathon. There really wasn't a need to rush. If he was lucky, his two new ponies may come out of the woods where it would be easily to corral them. Anything to make it easier on both Jon and Christian. Even though Jonathon was quick on his feet most of the time, Mia was dainty and small. If she tried hard enough, she could probably shoot off one way before Jonathon knew what was happening. Christian wasn't too worried about Riley, other than the fact he had a history of aggression. It didn't sound as if he was out to get anyone, more of he acted out because of fear.

"Stand." Christian hooked his foot in the left stirrup and gathered Jonathon's reins tightly before swinging over. Rope in hand, Christian nudged his pony forward back down to the pasture. Mia and Riley weren't in sight, so that meant they would have to go into the woods to find them.

Christian leaned over and opened the gate. Jonathon knew what to do and he slowly walked forward and then turned and backed up, so that Christian could easily lock the gate back in place. When everything was secure, Jonathon started trotting towards the woods per his rider's cue.

It didn't take long to find Mia and Riley. They weren't very far into the woods, just in and to the left a bit. Mia was on the ground asleep and the stallion stood over her, guarding and watching.

"Come on ponies. Let's go." Christian clucked to them and circled Jonathon around to the backside of them. Mia was up in an instant, eyes wide. Christian clicked again and moved Jonathon closer. He clapped the rope against his thighs as a warning, which the ponies understood. They trotted out of the woods.

Christian tailed them on his pony, clucking out to them and occasionally hitting his thighs with the rope as a signal to keep moving. They didn't need much help to continue moving forward though. Every so often Christian would dig his heels into Jonathon's sides and roughly pull him over, to keep the ponies going on a straight path.

When Mia and Riley got close to the fence by the barn, they turned to the right, and head down back into the lower part of the field. That was not where Christian wanted them to go. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

"Ah! Wrong way!" Christian kicked Jon's sides again and he sprang forward into a quick gallop. Christian spun his pony inward once he got in front of Mia and Riley. They got the message and turned to go the other way.

The gate to the barn pasture was seemingly wide open to freedom to Riley, so he took off towards in. Mia followed him just a couple steps behind. When it became obvious that this gate lead to nothing but an even smaller pen, Riley abruptly slid to a stop and turned quickly to go back out.

Unfortunately for Mia and Riley, Christian was too fast and was off Jonathon, locking the gate before they could escape.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

Plan A is put into action by Christian once Mia and Riley have a chance to calm down and Jonathon has a short breakfast break. This plan really was just to get halters on both Mia and Riley and then separate them. Riley would go into the stall next to Jonathon's and Mia would be in the last stall next to him. When the ponies had been chased into the small pen and realised it, they had panicked slightly. Or more accurately, Riley threw a panicky temper tantrum.

Christian was really looking forward to working with Riley. He didn't want to break him of his spirit, but tame it and channel it into more productive work. For now his plan with Riley was to cart train him to pull double with Jonathon. They would make a nice team. Both ponies were roughly the same size and height. It wasn't a necessity, but definitely make the whole presentation look much more professional.

As for Mia... Christian wasn't sure. She couldn't be a jumper because of her ankles, they were too mangled and any addition pressure or shock would make her go lame in an instant. Mia was also too small for Christian to saddle ride as he did with Jonathon. Perhaps she could pull a small cart, but her ankles were a problem again. Truthfully, she would probably never be able to be worked like a normal pony.

Christian broke out of his thoughts and gathered up his rope again, and the new pony's halters. For safety reasons, he was going to lasso Riley off of Jon. He wasn't sure how reactive Riley would be if he was on the ground by himself.

Both Mia and Riley snapped their heads over to Christian when they heard the gate creak open. Christian paused Jonathon for a moment and then urged him in. He dropped Mia's halter on the ground for now. Riley was his main goal to catch.

"Riley." Christian called out, walking Jonathon over. Riley was not having any of this and took off, Mia trotted uncertainly after him. Mia was abused, yes, but it was probably Riley who had been handled more roughly. He did everything in his power to defy, whereas Mia was scared but not terribly so.

"Woah. Come on, make this easy." Even though Christian had his rope and was willing to use it, he didn't want to jump right to using it. He needed to allow Riley a choice before he forced him to do anything.

Several minutes passed where Christian calmly tried to pin Riley in a corner to halter him. It soon became obvious that Riley had intention of allowing Christian to get close. Unraveling his rope, he gave a couple testing circles in the air. Mia instantly became much more nervous, trotting around quicker and doing small circles. Christian noted that she looked awfully like an Arabian.

After several tries at catching Riley with the rope, Christian finally succeeded. The guy was very quick at spinning right as the rope was swung at him.

"Woah, Riley. Woah." The rope was tight against the stallion's neck as he fought Christian, pulling backwards as hard as he could.

Christian quickly dismounted off of Jonathon and walked up to Riley. Riley was panicking, still trying to pull back. Afraid that he may damage his throat, Christian allowed a little slack in the rope before advancing forward again. They played this yo-yo game until Riley's back hit the fence, when he was forced to stop. Quickly, Christian got up close to Riley and slipped his halter on before he had to fight to much. The lasso rope went slack around his neck and Christian was able to take it off and loop it over the fence.

"Come on, easy pony." Christian lead Riley out of the small pen. It wasn't until they got right outside of the barn that Riley began to fight back again. Mia was whinnying out loud as she could.

"No. Stop." Christian snapped the rope and spun Riley in a tight circle, then walked right into the barn.

Riley followed unwillingly, but he kept calling to Mia. He didn't stop as Christian tied him to a ring in the wall of his new stall. For about a week Christian would keep both ponies tied to the ring, until he was done with the basics training. Well, that was if their basic training wouldn't take more than a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The next chapter was going to be nearly three thousand words, so I split it up. Just to stick with my average one thousand words per chapter. So, that's why the ending may not be a clean transition.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a very short chapter! I apologize. I didn't want to add this chapter onto the previous or next chapter, but it needs to be included so it is it's own chapter!

Jonathon had been left in the pen with Mia while Christian dealt with the new stallion, so Christian had to go get him before he tried to halter Mia. All that he would need to do for now with Jon would be to un tack him, so Christian did that quickly before heading back out of the barn. He would feed the ponies in a bit when they were all in stalls.

Even though Christian loved a pony with attitude, working with a pony like Mia would be a nice change. From what he had seen so far and what Lawrence had described to him, Mia was a sweet filly that aimed to please. She had some trust issues but they could work past them.

Currently Mia was standing in the same place as Christian had last seen her, in the very corner of the fence. She was visibly trembling and looked to be quite upset.

"Mia, honey. Calm down." Christian came through the gate and picked up her halter off of the ground. Mia looked over at him for a second and then looked back at the barn. She whinnied again, but it was very raspy and hoarse. Vaguely he remembered that the vet at the animal centre said something about she had damaged vocal words and couldn't form any legitimate words.

"Mia, girl. Come here." Christian walked slowly towards the filly, trying not to spook her any further. Didn't work, because Mia took off the other way.

"Calm down, honey. You're alright." The poor filly looked so scared and lost. It tore at Christian's heart.

Mia stopped over at the gate, breathing heavily. It wasn't like she had been running heavily, so she was probably on the verge of hyperventilating. Christian waited a couple moments before walking over to where she was by the fence. Approaching Mia, Christian holds out his hand as sort of a peace offering. No treats, which Mia notices. When the pony doesn't shy away, he loops the lead rope around her shoulders. This she pulls away at, but Christian holds the rope firmly.

"Good girl." She stops her pulling quickly and stands quiet, allowing Christian to put her halter on. Much less fuss than the fiasco haltering Riley.

The filly follows Christian quietly into the barn, her eyes darting all over the place taking in the new scenery. When Riley spots her, he whinnies and starts kicking at the stall wall.

"Hey! No!" Christian shouts, glaring at Riley.

He leads Mia into the stall, where she can nearly touch noses with Riley. She's very quiet now and isn't trembling. Christian runs his hand down her side, which she doesn't flinch at.

"Mia." She doesn't make any sign of recognising her name. Christian calls out a couple more times, then leaves the matter to fix feed.

Their feed was simple. It was salted and buttered rice and barely with vegetables, chicken and steak. Occasionally he would throw in extra things or give them a different mix of feeds, such as a salad or chicken noodle soup in the winter. But today it was the usual. Jonathon and Riley got three cups, but Mia got two. She was smaller and didn't need as much, though she ate it all.

Christian fed Jonathon first, then Riley and finally Mia. Just down the row, no special reason why. Mia still looked spacey, and almost robotic so Christian stayed at her stall watching her. When she didn't break out of it and hardly touched her foot, Christian called Lawrence. He didn't know what was going on.

**0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0**

"Lawrence Hobbs, at Animal Control, how may I help you?"

"Hi Lawrence. It's Christian."

"Oh, hello. Sorry I didn't look at the number. How are Mia and Riley adjusting?"

"Well, they are doing okay. It's Mia I'm worried about. I caught her up today and she just seems... out of it and she hasn't snapped out of the trance like state. It's probably been thirty minutes."

"From what you've said, it sounds like a defensive coping mechanism, shutting down. I've never seen her do anything similar, but I've seen other ponies and heard many cases. It's not serious, unless it advances into depression, but that's unlikely. They should snap out of it soon. Just allow her to be with Riley for a bit and she will be okay. If she doesn't by tomorrow afternoon, give me another call."

"Alright, thank you Lawrence." Christian hung up the phone and looked back at Mia. She was slowly eating, but eating. Better than nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The plot for this story was a little... sparse. To be honest I only had a couple chapters planned and that was it. So yesterday I reevaluated the plot and it is looking so much better! I estimate this story will have around thirteen chapters. The rest of the chapters will pick up in pace, I hope.


End file.
